Cars were lined up almost to the Shippingport bridge on the evening of March 8th at Sprak, the Portland skate park and shop located on 27th Street, as it expanded its regional presence with Raving Lunatics: “An Art Show & Skate Jam.”
According to owner Paul Zitzer, the event was the brainchild of local skater and artist Rance Reinhart (also known as RancerStank), who had the vision and just needed Sprak as the homebase. “It was all Rance,” Paul said. “He came to me with his idea for an art show of only or mostly skater’s artwork, and I said great idea, let’s do it, how can I help? It was as simple as that.”
Rance started working on getting the artists and space coordinated back in the fall and was quick to credit the help of our own William Smith from the Portland Museum staff and Lindsey Cummins from Printed Zine, as this was the first time he’d curated a show.
Judging by the turnout it was a resounding success, with dozens of visitors both enjoying the impressive array of artwork in Sprak’s lofted space as well as fully utilizing the amazing skating facilities. DJ AK provided a lively soundtrack over the booming audio system. Zitzer said they are still drawing skaters from all over the country, from Atlanta, Seattle and St. Louis among many other cities.
And it was the element of live skating by these fearless and talented skaters that brought the event to life. Zitzer and Rance both talked about going beyond a traditional art show.
“It’s about bringing it to a different audience,” Paul said, noting many art gallery enthusiasts don’t always intersect with the skating community, and vice versa. “And depending on your view, skating is also a work of art.” Raving Lunatics is free and runs through March 29. Find @sprakskateboarding on Instagram for the latest events and activities.
